The ''Kugel-Erlass'' (), also known as ''Aktion Kugel'', was a secret decree (''Geheimbefehl''), issued by
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
Germany on 2 March 1944. The decree stated that Allied
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
who attempted to escape but were recaptured, especially
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
s and senior
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
s, should be handed over to the ''
Sicherheitsdienst
' (, "Security Service"), full title ' ("Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''"), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...
'' (SD) who should execute them, "''im Rahmen der Aktion Kugel''" ( Aktion Kugel), in
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 f ...
. This order was in direct contravention of the provisions of the
Third Geneva Convention
The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was first adopted in 1929, but significantl ...
.
An exception was made for British and American prisoners of war who unsuccessfully attempted to escape. Their fate was to be decided by the German High Command (''Oberkommando der
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
'') on a case-by-case basis. The bullet decree was later amended to include British prisoners of war after the
Great Escape from ''
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III (; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel.
The camp was established in March 1942 near th ...
'' of 25 March 1944. The number of escaped prisoners of war executed by the ''Kugel-Erlass'' is not precisely known; estimates vary between 1,300 and 5,000 or 5,040 executed. The vast majority of these prisoners of war came from the
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Five escaped Dutch officers are known, and four more are suspected, to have been executed in Mauthausen as a result of the ''Kugel-Erlass''.
Abraham Edelheit attributes this order to head of Gestapo,
Heinrich Müller, but with a date of November 1944.
See also
*
Adolf Hitler's directives
*
Commando Order
The Commando Order () was issued by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, OKW, the high command of the Wehrmacht, German Armed Forces, on 18 October 1942. This order stated that all Allies of World War II, Allied commandos captured in Europe and Africa ...
*
Commissar Order
The Commissar Order () was an order issued by the German High Command ( OKW) on 6 June 1941 before Operation Barbarossa. Its official name was Guidelines for the Treatment of Political Commissars (''Richtlinien für die Behandlung politischer Ko ...
*
German High Command orders for Treatment of Soviet Prisoners of War
*
Le Paradis massacre
The Le Paradis massacre was a World War II war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf, SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of ''Hauptsturmführer'' Fritz Knöchlein. It took place on 27 May 1940, d ...
*
Oflag
An Oflag (from ) was a type of prisoner of war camp for Officer (armed forces), officers which the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army established in World War I in accordance with the requirements of the Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907), 1899 ...
*
Gleiwitz incident, 1939
*
Operation Greif
Operation Greif ( () was a special operation commanded by ''Waffen-SS'' commando Otto Skorzeny during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. The operation was the brainchild of Adolf Hitler, and its purpose was to capture one or more of the brid ...
, 1944
*
Severity Order
The Severity Order or Reichenau Order was the name given to an order promulgated within the German Sixth Army on the Eastern Front during World War II by ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Walter von Reichenau on 10 October 1941.
Text of the order
The ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
ess.uwe.ac.ukicrc.orgavalon.law.yale.edu ''The Avalon Project: Document No. 1650-PS''
Nazi war crimes
Escapes and rescues during World War II
World War II crimes against prisoners of war